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RNA Hydroxymethylcytosine Targets the Messenger

January 28, 2016

A new paper adds another RNA modification to the list already published, but with exciting news for the epigenetics enthusiasts out there… the characterized modification is RNA 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmrC), an important mark previously discovered on DNA. The laboratory of François Fuks at ULB in Brussels decided to look deeper into the presence of 5hmC on […]

Viva in vivo Gene Editing: A Roundup of the Latest CRISPR Hits

January 28, 2016

Gene editing with CRISPR/Cas9 is here, there, and everywhere. We have seen gene editing in human somatic cells, pluripotent stem cells, and even embryos. However, we should also be looking at CRISPR-based gene editing somewhere else: in a living, breathing human. The question is – where does the current technology stand on the in vivo […]

Casilio: a CRISPR/Cas9 and Pumilio Hybrid for Epigenome Editing

January 24, 2016

Life is full of challenges, and when that challenge is epigenome editing even a rock star like CRISPR/Cas9 stands to benefit from helping a hand. Epigenome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 involves using a dead Cas9 (dCas9) that confers the precision of the genome editing system without nuclease activity. The standard approach involves utilizing a fusion protein […]

CRISPR Gene Editing Prefers the Naïve Side of Pluripotency

January 11, 2016

While many across the universe have been pondering over the decision between the light and the dark side of the Force, a more pressing decision confronts CRISPR-based gene editing in stem cells: the primed or the naïve side of pluripotency!? Pluripotent Stem Cells (PSCs), such as human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), human embryonic stem […]

LobChIP: A Single Day ChIP-Seq Library Preparation Hack

January 9, 2016

With the speed and power of today’s high-throughput sequencers it seems that chromatin immunoprecipitation is the ‘limiting reagent’ in your ChIP-Seq reaction. Usually ChIP-Seq immunoprecipitation and library preparation takes 4 or 5 days, but now a talented team from Uppsala University in Sweden bring forth the library-on-beads ChIP (lobChIP) protocol, which wraps that up into […]

A Synthetic Transcriptional Repressor That’s Anything but Plain

January 9, 2016

Synthetic gene circuits, just like electronic circuits, are built from parts that take an input, process it, and pass on an output. The toolbox of parts for gene circuits has long been limited to those found somewhere in nature, particularly when it comes to sensing an input. Typically, these systems repurpose a natural transcription factor that […]

tRNA Fragments Beat DNA Methylation in the Game of Paternal Intergenerational Epigenetic Inheritance

January 9, 2016

The fact that parental diet affects the metabolism of offspring goes to show that inheritance can be shaped by environmental factors. While early studies focused on mom’s contribution, we’re now starting to see the importance of paternal contribution for shaping an offspring’s epigenome. For the past 15 years, the lab of Oliver Rando at the […]

Gene Drives: Wormholes of Biology

January 8, 2016

Gene drives have been hitting the news quite a bit lately, generating a lot of hype, hope, and some hand-wringing. They are a relatively new concept, so it’s well worth a quick road trip into gene drive history, domestication, safety, and practical challenges. Gene Drives? In essence, gene drives are the wormholes of biology. They look […]

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells (hPSCs) Elevate Performance with Chimera Formation

January 8, 2016

Ask Usain Bolt, Yelena Isinbayeva, or Lindsey Vonn and they will tell you that Gold is the only thing that matters. To them, it came in the guise of an Olympic medal (or two), but human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been in the hunt for a slightly different type of gold to prove their […]

The Early Days of CRISPR with Dr. Blake Weidenheft

December 28, 2015

Interview with Dr. Blake Weidenheft at Keystone Symposia’s Precision Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology: Designing Genomes and Pathways The Early Days of CRISPR I was one of the earlier people involved in the CRISPR– in CRISPR biology. And so we didn’t really come at this with the intent to try to develop some new genome […]